Dare Me, Part Two Dare Duet Sawyer and Billie: Unchained Attraction Series

by Shandwick, K. L.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  My wife’s mood change was nothing short of miraculous following a couple of good orgasms and a text from Logan to say he’d do Christmas at our place.

  It had meant skipping Christmas at my parents. I felt that was worth it to have Billie and Colby together. I wasn’t foolish enough to think this would be the same every year, but I guessed one Christmas at a time was enough for the time being. It was a sensitive time for all, and after Logan had agreed I’d felt weirdly okay with it.

  “Are you out of your mind?” James asked, when he dropped in with some Christmas gifts for us all.

  “As long as Billie and Colby are happy, I can cope, besides, Trish is coming as well. Her parents are spending time at Franco’s parents, but as they’re in Vermont she hadn’t wanted to make the trip up there.”

  “Do you need any more backup?”

  “Backup?” I repeated and stared into his eyes with a frown.

  “Yeah, I could always come and spend Christmas Day here as well. Think about it, the more people there are the less of an ass Billie’s ex is likely to be.”

  James and I stood silent for a long minute, and I considered what we’d been through, how far we’d come, and that he’d been missing from our Christmas table at home for the previous couple of years and I nodded. “All right, but you get to break the news to our mom.”

  A grin spread his lips and he laughed. “I know she’ll be pissed, but when I tell her why I’m coming here instead, I think she’ll be shocked I want to do the right thing,” he replied with a sheepish grin. I realized then and there I no longer felt anything over what he’d done with Charlotte, and I was truly past that chapter in my life.

  Tricia had always been fiercely protective of Billie’s feelings, but with this instance she had thought it a crazy idea as well, but who the fuck cared what other people thought, it was Billie, Colby and me at the center of it all, not them. Once the babies were part of the mix, I figured Colby would be the most affected as he was the one who had to leave the rest of us on alternate weeks while his siblings remained at home.

  * * *

  When Christmas Eve arrived Billie was a bundle of nerves as doubts crept in as to what Christmas with Logan would bring.

  “Relax, darlin’, we’ve got this,” I said, nodding toward Tricia who sat at the counter, a huge glass of red wine in her hand. Tricia grinned wickedly like she couldn’t wait for the day to come.

  “Sawyer’s right, Billie. Logan wouldn’t dare start anything with all of us here. Plus Colby’s the reason you’re spending the day together, so he’d be stupid to do anything that might jeopardize his happiness. It’ll be fine, and let’s face it he’s not coming until 11:00 a.m. and he’ll be gone by 6:30 or 7 p.m., right? Look upon it as a shift at work, with tons of gifts and a huge pile of food. You could even take a nap afterward, that would cut down your time with him.”

  I nodded and continued preparing the vegetables to soak in cold water. That had been Billie’s idea for a stress-free Christmas morning when we only had to cook them. I glanced toward her and noticed she’d gone quiet. She was stuffing the turkey in a pretty rough manner.

  “No need to wonder who you’re thinking about,” I teased, watching Billie cram in an apple and shove copious amounts of sage and onion stuffing up the poor bird’s butt. Tricia spat out the mouthful of wine she had just taken in. “Just what we need, an ex and a lush who can’t hold her drink,” I joked, and the tension immediately dropped from Billie’s shoulders.

  She sighed. “You’re right, it’s just that I know him …”

  “Knew him,” I corrected, as at one time she’d never thought he’d have cheated on her or drank himself unconscious.

  “Okay, I’m not going to get all bent out of shape about him,” she muttered before she burst out laughing. “Like I look totally hot and in perfect shape right now,” she said, waving her hand at her bump.

  “I love the shape of you. I’ve said this before. Nothing is ever going to stop me wanting to touch your incredible body,” I said. Tricia sighed as I continued to stare at my wife.

  “I’ve always been dead set against long-term boyfriends, but I have to say, Sawyer, you make a pretty mean partner. You’re a lucky girl, Billie. Then again, I knew you were both firing on all cylinders the first time I saw you together on that stage. Damn the pheromones were thick in the air that night.”

  Billie chuckled and ran her hands under the faucet, squeezed some soap and lathered them up. “Just think if you hadn’t dragged me out on that date, we wouldn’t be where we are now.”

  “Fate. I keep telling her, but she won’t listen,” I said, as the door buzzer went off, and I glanced at the oven clock. “That’ll be James,” I mumbled, and made my way over to the intercom to buzz him up.

  “Thought he was coming tomorrow,” Tricia said, and I eyed her suspiciously because the shrill tone in her voice had made her sound slightly alarmed. Then I remembered we hadn’t been expecting him until he’d texted me before Tricia arrived and that’s when figured she may have been the one surprised instead.

  Carrying another pile of gifts, and dragging some more in a sack, he scurried into the living room and dumped them all on the couch. “Fuck, it’s freezing in that underground parking garage,” he moaned as he shrugged himself out of his coat and followed me into the kitchen.

  “Hey, you guys,” he greeted before his surprised eyes fell on Tricia. “Tricia,” he said with a nod, wandered slowly over to Billie and kissed her cheek. Usually I bristled whenever he went near her, but today was the first time I never had that feeling. All I saw was my brother saying ‘hi’ to my wife, and just like that, he wasn’t a threat to my happiness anymore.

  After he’d kissed Billie’s cheek, he rounded the countertop to where Tricia sat and did the same to her, but his touch appeared a little more intimate with her compared to how he’d greeted my wife.

  I’d always been an observant guy and noted as Tricia held her wine glass in one hand, the other rested on the countertop, and when my brother leaned in to peck her on the cheek he’d placed his hand on top of hers.

  For a few seconds I had a flashback to James the player, the guy with all the right moves with women, the beguiling playboy with the charm and natural ability to hypnotize females. Looking to Tricia to gauge her reaction it was clear she was deadpan, like what he’d done had gone totally unnoticed. I smirked as James dragged his hand away and took the barstool next to her.

  “Evening,” he said, as he sat and lifted the bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pap and inspected the label. “Great taste, Bro, the 2009 was an excellent year.”

  “I wouldn’t know since red wine’s main ingredient smells like the piss from a dehydrated camel.” Billie chuckled and Tricia snorted in response to my reply.

  “I remember you told me that the first day we spent together.”

  “First proper date,” I reminded her, and stared intently before widening my eyes at the memory of how we’d ended up going all the way even though I had intended on taking things slow with my shy girl. A confirmation of the way our connection had felt so natural between us from day one.

  “Proper as opposed to improper?” Jeez, Billie was cute and blushed when he poked fun at my comment.

  “I practically had to beg her to come to the diner with me,” I informed him, as I wandered over to my gorgeous girl and wrapped my arms around her from behind. Immediately she sank back into my embrace and my hand slid protectively to her bump. “She still makes me beg,” I muttered, knowing I’d embarrass her, but the flush of her cheeks was worth the smack in the chest she gave me when she wriggled out of my hold.

  “Sickening, isn’t it?” Tricia asked James in a sarcastic tone, and he shrugged.

  “I used to think so, having one woman for the rest of my life, but after seeing these two making it work …” Looking down at the bottle again he picked at the edge of the label with a wistful smile on his face, and I wondered what the hell had happened
to my wayward bastard of a brother and who this imposter was?

  Once the vegetables were prepped, we made our way to the couches in the living room and as we had one of those sectional ones, James sat at one end and Tricia sat at the other. Billie and I took the other three-seat couch and I spread my legs along it and Billie curled up by my side.

  “Are there any topics of conversation we should avoid tomorrow?” James asked, glancing at Tricia and saw her smirk back.

  “Nope, I just want it to be amicable for Colby. This is his last Christmas as an only child, I don’t want it marred by animosity and strained relations, although how we achieve this is …”

  I cradled her head and leaned down, pressing a kiss to her mouth. “Baby, it’ll be fine. Trust me, have you ever seen me lose my shit with the guy?”

  “Well … no but there’s always a first.”

  “Not going to happen,” James chimed in. “I’ve never seen Sawyer lose his cool unless it was intentional.”

  My curious eyes shot to my brother and I could see he meant every word. He knew me, despite all our differences he knew this about me at least.

  “I’m going to make him play stupid games,” Tricia piped up. “I bought Colby Pie Face and three cans of whipped cream. I’ll fix it to ensure the handle is primed often for Logan,” she stated with a smug grin on her face.

  “That should be hilarious,” Billie said, chuckling. “If you can get him to play in the first place,” she added.

  “Gurl,” she said in a cocky tone. “Check me out, no man refuses this,” she said, waving her hand up at her face.

  “I can imagine,” James muttered, then looked startled for a second when I eyed him, suspiciously. “I mean, someone as persuasive and pushy as you are, a guy doesn’t stand a chance. He won’t ever see you coming.”

  “Bro, is that you speaking from experience?” I asked, glancing between them both and narrowing my eyes.

  “No,” they both chimed in unison and Billie’s body stiffened, like she’d felt the same vibe when they’d answered, that I did.

  “Is there something we should …”

  James and Tricia stared at each other a moment too long and I knew they were lying, but both continued to deny their attraction to one another. However, their avoidance to sit close, James’s earlier intimate touch, and the speed they’d protested their innocence left me in no doubt, something had happened between them.

  “Let’s get back to Sawyer’s question. Is there anything we need to know?” Billie asked, wagging her finger between us as she delivered her pointed question to her friend and my brother.

  “No—what can I say, it’s weddings,” both James and Tricia answered at the same time. They both stared intently at one another again and burst out laughing. “Busted,” James muttered glancing toward Tricia and chuckled.

  Tricia shrugged. “It was your wedding. We were both drunk … we had sloppy sex and it won’t happen again.”

  “Sloppy sex?” both myself and James said. “I don’t recall you complaining at the time. If anything was sloppy that was on your end.”

  Billie put her face in her hands like she was mortified, and I laughed so loud she pulled them away and shushed me. “Shh, you’ll wake Colby up and if you do, you’ll be staying up with him all night,” she admonished.

  Tricia tucked her hair behind her ear and glanced at Billie, and for a moment I saw a hint of embarrassment that she’d snuck this past her friend, but it was fleeting, and her expression became defiant.

  “What can I say? I was away from home in a strange house, and I didn’t know my way back to my room. James … assisted me.” The innocent look she gave us made me wary of believing anything else that came out of her mouth.

  “Assisted you? The only point I assisted you with was when you were screaming my name. My recollection goes something like this. You cut in between me and some lovely girl on the dance floor, and tucked my arm under yours. To your credit, you excused yourself from the girl and dragged me away from her. Admittedly you asked me which corridor to take, but after we arrived at your door you pulled me inside, pushed me against the wall, and stuffed your hand down my pants,” he replied, chuckling.

  “Is that so? My mind goes a little hazy after the speeches,” she muttered, cocking her head to one side.

  “Hazy apart from the sloppy sex, right?” I prompted. James and Billie laughed until Billie winced and held her bump.

  “Damn, we’re not the only ones getting a kick out of teasing Tricia,” she mumbled and looked up at my face.

  “That’s it. Bed,” I ordered. “And that’s not an invitation for you two for more ‘Sloppy Sex,’” I joked, giving the customary quotation marks to the name.

  “Where am I sleeping?” Tricia asked and James scoffed.

  “Nothing to do with me,” he replied, holding his hands up and we all chuckled again.

  After Billie saw them both into their respective guestrooms, we changed, washed, and climbed into bed. Snuggling down on her side facing me, she snickered. “Who’d have thought that would have happened?” she whispered conspiratorially.

  “I guess anything’s possible with James,” I muttered half-awake and felt her stiffen in my arms. “That wasn’t a dig, just the guy I used to know. Let’s just say women used to treat him like an object a lot of the time.”

  “That’s horrible.”

  “Suited James because he never wanted to be tied down. That’s why I thought everything Charlotte had said was true. He’d never stuck with one girl before he was with her.”

  “He told me that was to keep you from getting back with her.”

  “Yeah, he told me the same, and it took me a while, but I believe that’s the truth.” Billie cupped my cheek, closed the space between us, but stopped short of kissing me. I felt her warm breath on my face before she took in another breath.

  “I’m glad you guys are okay. It makes me happy to know you forgave him. And I feel even happier that Charlotte achieved two things, bringing you into my life and strengthening the bond you have with your brother.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  In previous years I had missed the early Christmas morning excitement, vaguely stirring when Tammy and Caitlin’s children had belted down the wooden hallways with their excited chatter. High-pitched screams of delight echoed through the house as they took to the stairs down to the great room like a heard of baby elephants.

  Christmas with Colby was different, except from the part when he dragged us all out of bed at the ass crack of dawn. Once he’d achieved this he hovered around the tree, fists tight with excitement as his hungry eyes frantically scanned the packages.

  Following his gaze I also checked out the carefully tied up Christmas gifts and pretty neat boxes tied with bows and, fuck me, if he didn’t launch into an intense negotiation with Billie about how many gifts he could open before lunch.

  We had spoken at length and decided what Colby had been given from us should be opened before Logan arrived. This was so as not to press the point of what we’d given him.

  Both of us had been of a mind where experiences were far greater gifts than material ones. We’d noted his interest in the water-based activity schools close to the beach house, and to this end we had organized some personal lessons for the new paddle board we’d bought him, a wet suit, life jacket, and some private sailing lessons with instructional handbooks to go with them.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw James taking pictures and my heart clenched when I saw how happy he appeared be at being included of our Christmas celebrations.

  When I looked at the images later they had brought a lump to my throat. Colby’s eyes danced with excitement, his normally shy looking smile totally lost in the moment of joy and his open honest smile told me it was a present he’d always remember.

  James and Tricia’s gifts to Colby were more conventional ones and all related to his gaming, which he had quickly bargained his way into being allowed to go to his room and test them out,
before his father arrived.

  After Colby had been excused, James gifted Billie an elegant and expensive tennis bracelet and turning to Tricia he looked a little nervous, shrugged his shoulders, and gave her a small jewelry box as well. “I hope you don’t mind, but Billie mentioned you were coming, and I didn’t want to leave you out,” he mumbled as the rest of us looked on.

  Tricia looked stunned, unsure whether to open the gift in front of us or not. “Can I save it until later?” she asked, in a far less forthright tone than we’d been used to.

  “If you want, but I’m not saving mine,” James said, like an eager adolescent and tore at the brightly wrapped package she’d given in return.

  Holding it up he chuckled. “Perfect,” he muttered as he spread a bright green gaudy Christmas sweater in front of him with a flashing Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer on the front.”

  “I try,” she shot back sarcastically, and we all chuckled.

  “Billie insisted we didn’t spend much money on each other. She challenged me to come up with something just for her,” I told the others, while pulling out a few small boxes and one a lot larger.

  “Here,” I said, handing her a red velvet box with a white satin ribbon around it. Smiling warmly she opened the box and began chuckling. Peering in she glanced up at me again and her eyes brimmed with tears.

  “Jeez, don’t start blubbering, you crazy woman,” I chipped in, as she lifted a single golden Rolo out of the box.

  “Your last Rolo?” she questioned, delighted and held it close to her heart like some lovesick teenager.

  “Of course…and you’re welcome,” I said, grinning as I leaned in and stole a chaste kiss.

  “Your turn,” she prompted, and I lifted a large flat object I thought was a painting. Reaching out quickly, I took the heavy frame from her. I eyed a similar package I had for her and glanced back toward the one she gave me with more than a little curiosity.